Mother Goose's melody

CHILDREN'S BOOK
COLLECTION

LIBRARY OF THE

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA

LOS ANGELES

MOTHER GOOSE'S MELODY

MOTHER GOOSE'S MELODY

A FACSIMILE REPRODUCTION

OF

THE EARLIEST KNOWN EDITION

WITH AN INTRODUCTION AND NOTES
BY

COLONEL W. F. PRIDEAUX, C.S.I.

LONDON
A. H. BULLEN

47 GREAT RUSSELL STREET

Edinburgh: T. & A. CONSTABLE, Printers to His Majesty

INTRODUCTION

SEVERAL years ago, when occupied in investi-
gating the sources of our traditional songs and
ballads, I asked a kind and generous corre-
spondent, the late Professor Francis James
Child, of Harvard University, if he could
afford me any information with regard to the
earliest forms in which the old English nursery
rhymes crossed the Atlantic. Professor Child,
in a letter dated 25th February 1886, wrote
to me : ' A collection of nursery songs was
made in Boston as early as 1719: Bongs for
the Nursery, or Mother Goose's Melodies for
Children. A copy was said to have been dis-
covered in an old antiquarian library not very
long ago, but afterwards could not be found.
I meant to reprint this copy — it was somewhat
imperfect — for the good of the world. Mother
Goose's Melodies continues to be printed, but
no one thinking fidelity of the least conse-
quence, books bearing that title are arbitrarily
b v

vi MOTHER GOOSE'S MELODY

altered, and filled out from Halliwell. The
original collection seems to have been a very
small affair, and the smaller the reprints the
more chance of genuineness. I have ordered
one which used to be sold in Boston, and will
send it as soon as it comes to hand.'

Professor Child was presumably unable to
procure this little book, as I never received
it, nor, in the press of work attending the
preparation of his monumental collection of
The English and Scottish Popular Ballads, was
he able to carry out the task of giving to the
world his contemplated treatise on the litera-
ture of the nursery. In this particular his
mantle fell upon the late Mr. William H.
Whitmore of Boston, the eminent antiquary
and genealogist. Mr. Whitmore devoted him-
self assiduously to the study of the subject,
and after some years of diligent inquiry,
during which he was successful in acquiring
two early American copies of Mother Goose's
Melody, he published a pamphlet in 1889 at
Albany, New York, which in 1892 he ampli-
fied into a very valuable work, entitled The

INTRODUCTION vii

Original Mother Goose's Melody, as issued by
John Newbery, London, circa 1760 ; Isaiah
Thomas, Worcester, circa 1785 ; Monroe &
Francis, Boston, circa 1825. This book con-
tained an interesting introduction by Mr.
Whitmore, in which he traced the history of
the little collection with a painstaking minute-
ness that left few gleanings for a successor
to pick up, together with a facsimile of the
earliest known American edition, and a reprint
of the New York (1795) edition of Perrault's
Tales of "Passed Times. Of the two copies of
the little book in the possession of Mr. Whit-
more, both of which were printed by Isaiah
Thomas of Worcester, Massachusetts, the
earlier, which Mr. Whitmore considered on
good grounds was dated not later than 1785,
had unfortunately lost its title-page, while
the other, which was stated to be the third
Worcester edition, and was printed in 1799,
was deficient in several leaves.1

1 Notwithstanding these defects, at the auction sale of
Mr. Whitmore's books in November 1902, the first
copy realised as much as $45, and the second $30.

viii MOTHER GOOSE'S MELODY

Mr. Whitmore's investigations brought to
light no evidence whatever of the existence
of the supposed edition of 1719. The story
seems to have originated in a misunderstanding.
A literary man named Crowninshield, who
died in 1859, apparently conceived a vague
idea that he had seen this volume in the
Library of the American Antiquarian Society
— the 'old antiquarian library' of Professor
Child. Amongst his acquaintances, he came
across a gentleman of the name of Eliot, who
was a great-grandson of Thomas Fleet, a well-
known Boston printer, who carried on business
between 1712 and 1758, and from whose press
the little volume was supposed to have issued.
Fleet was the son-in-law of a certain Mrs.
Elizabeth Goose, and this fact seems to have
established a tradition in the family that this
lady was the veritable * Mother Goose ' of the
Melodies. Mr. Crowninshield's presumed
discovery lent weight to this legend, and the
story having been published by Mr. Eliot in
The Boston Transcript for January 14, 1860,
it rapidly got into currency, and, crossing the

INTRODUCTION ix

Atlantic, found its way into Notes and Queries
(3rd Ser. ix. 265). In The Athenaum for
February 26, 1887, Mr. Andrew Lang drew
attention to the fact that some one had adver-
tised for a copy of the book, and asked any
reader of that journal who possessed any
knowledge of Mother Goose, or her Songs
for the Nursery, to impart his lore. As no
information was obtainable, it was assumed
that the original work in the Library of the
Antiquarian Society had been lost, or mislaid,
or possibly destroyed. The fact, however,
remains that the library was carefully searched,
and that no copy of any such edition was
found. Nothing has since been heard of it,
and the only safe conclusion is that it never
existed, except in the imagination of the sup-
posed discoverer.

For the authentic history of the genuine
Mother Goose's Melodyy we have but few
materials. The only fact that Mr. Charles
Welsh, in his charming book, A Bookseller of
the Last Century, was able to ascertain regard-
ing it, was that it was entered by Thomas

x MOTHER GOOSE'S MELODY

Carnan, the stepson and one of the successors
of John Newbery, at Stationers' Hall on
December 28, 1780. But Mr. Welsh in-
formed Mr. Whitmore that he thought it
probable that 1780, the date of the copyright,
was not necessarily that of the first issue of
the book, but rather that the copyright was
taken out in connection with the winding-up
of the co-partnership on Francis Newbery's
death. Judging from the style of the book, it
seems likely that it was first * produced by
John' Newbery about 1765.

The book being merely a collection of
nursery rhymes, to which a selection of
Shakespeare's lyrics was added, the question
of authorship hardly arises, but it would be
interesting if the identity of the writer of the
preface and the footnotes could be established.
Mr. Welsh and Mr. Whitmore are of opinion
that in these additions to the rhymes the hand
of Goldsmith may be traced. There is no
doubt that between 1762 and 1768 he was
constantly employed in hack-work for John
Newbery, in addition to the more important

INTRODUCTION xi

works for which Newbery acted as publisher.
Mr. Whitmore points out that Goldsmith
was fond of children, and was familiar with
nursery rhymes and games. Forster, in his
Life of Goldsmith, quotes a letter of Miss
Hawkins, in which she says : ' I little thought
what I should have to boast, when Goldsmith
taught me to play Jack and Jill, by two bits
of paper on his fingers/ And a more curious
piece of evidence is noted by Mr. Whitmore.
On January 29, 1768, Goldsmith's play of
The Good Natured Man was produced. The
reception it met with was discouraging, and
Goldsmith had some trouble to conceal his
disappointment. He had supper with some
of his set, and Johnson told Mrs. Thrale that
to impress his friends still more forcibly with
an idea of his magnanimity, he even sung his
favourite song, which he never consented to
sing but on special occasions, about An Old
Woman tossed in a Blanket seventeen times as
high as the Moon, and was altogether very noisy
and loud. Now, as Mr. Whitmore points
out, the reader will find this identical * favourite

xii MOTHER GOOSE'S MELODY

song ' at page vii of the preface to Mother
Goose's Melody, dragged in without any excuse,
but evidently because it was familiar to the
writer. It is difficult not to concede some
force to this coincidence.

The title of the little song-book was doubt-
less borrowed from the more familiar Mother
Goose's Tales. The date of Newbery's first
edition of these Tales is unknown, but Mr.
Charles Welsh shows that the seventh edition
was printed May 16, 1777, and that between
this date and March 1779, Carnan and New-
bery took 1700 out of the 3000 copies printed
by Collins of Salisbury. The eighth edition
was issued September 4, 1780. The title of
the book is merely a translation of Perrault's
Contes de ma Mere fOye. Of the origin of
this fantastic name nothing can be said with
certainty, but in The Athenteum for March 12,
1887, the Countess Martinengo-Cesaresco
pointed out the connection between the Contes
de ma Commere fOye and other stories with
animal eponymi, such as Contes de Teati
d'Asnon and Contes de la Cicogne, of which all

INTRODUCTION xiii

traces except the names seem to be lost. In
Melusine for April 1887 (col. 369), there is
an interesting extract from Noel du Fail's
Propos Rustiques, which describes how Robin
Chevet, an old Breton farmer, used to enter-
tain his family after supper with old-world
tales : —

'Et ainsi occupes a diverses besognes, le
bonhomme Robin, apres avoir impose silence,
commen9oit un beau conte du temps que les
bestes parloient : comme le renard desroboit
le poisson aux poissoniers ; comme il fit battre
le loup aux lavandieres, lorsqu'il apprenoit a
pescher, — comme le chien et le chat alloient
bien loin ; — de la corneille qui en chantant
perdit son fromage, — de Melusine, — du loup
garou, de cuir d' Annette ; — des f£es, et que
souventes fois parloit a elles, familierement
mesme, la vespree, passant par le chemin
creux, et qu'il les voyoit danser au branle
pres la fontaine de Cormier au son d'une belle
veze (cornemuse), couverte de cuir rouge, ce
luy estoit avis, car il avoit la vue courte/

xiv MOTHER GOOSE'S MELODY

The contributor of Melusine, to whom we
are indebted for this extract, observed that in
some editions of *Propos Rustiques three tales
are added to the repertory of Robin Chevet,
one of which is 4le conte de la cicogne.'
Looking to the general character of worthy
Robin's stories, it seems possible that 'contes
de loups ' and ' contes de la cicogne ' were only
popular appellations for the fables of a still
earlier raconteur, the ubiquitous JEsop. How-
ever this may be, it is clear that the names of
animals were associated with collections of
tales from an early period, and Mr. Lang
points out in his edition of Perrault (Oxford,
1888), p. xxiv, that ' Mother Goose' occurs in
Loret's La Muse Historique (lettre v., 1 1 Juin,
1650)—

* Mais le cher motif de leur joye,
Comme un conte de la Mere Oye,
Se trouvant fabuleux et faux,
Us deviendront tous bien penauts.'

This anticipates the date of the first collected
edition of Perrault's Tales (1697) by nearly
fifty years.

INTRODUCTION xv

Mother Goose and her Tales were not long
in crossing the Channel. The earliest editions
of the English translation have long passed into
limbo. Mr. Austin Dobson informed Mr.
Lang that 'an English version, translated by
Mr. Samber, printed for J. Pote, was adver-
tised in The Monthly Chronicle, March 1729'
(Perrault's Tales, p. xxxiv). This was pro-
bably the first edition, but no copies are
known to exist. Nor have I ever met with a
copy of the following edition, the full title of
which I give from a contemporary bookseller's
catalogue: —

' Mother Goose's Stories of Past Times,
writ purposely for the Innocent Entertainment
of Children, and yet are so contrived by the
Author, that not only Children, but those
of Maturity have found in them uncommon
Pleasure and Delight : As an Instance of
which, the famous Perault [j/V] was so taken
with them that he made the Morals to them
himself, knowing they tended to the In-
couragement of Virtue, and the Depression of

xvi MOTHER GOOSE'S MELODY

Vice; the former of which is ever rewarded
in them, and the latter ever punished.

' N.'B. — This Book has met with such
uncommon Encouragement in the French
Tongue, that Ten Thousand could hardly
satisfy the Call there has been for them ; nor
has the English Bookseller Reason to com-
plain, the Second Edition being almost sold.
It is likewise to be had in French and English,
at 2s. 6d., and in English only for is. 6d.,
adorned with Cuts.'

The translation of Robert Samber seems
to have long retained its popularity, as an
edition, called the seventh, was printed by
J. Rivington, New York, in 1795. Like its
predecessors, it contained the English and
French versions on opposite pages. I have
little doubt that the ' Morals ' which Perrault
tagged on to his stories gave the idea to the
compiler of Mother Goose s Melody of append-
ing the footnotes to the rhymes, in some of
which one is inclined to see some trace of the

INTRODUCTION xvii

wise and kindly humour which studs the
pages of the immortal Vicar.

When Mr. Whitmore published his book
in 1892, he noted that the English editions
of Mother Goose's Melody had practically dis-
appeared, not even Mr. Welsh, the historian
of the house in St. Paul's Churchyard, having
been able to see an example of Newbery's
print. The rarity of early children's books
exceeds that of a Coverdale Bible or a first
folio Shakespeare. A short time ago, however,
Mr. Bertram Dobell, an assiduous and culti-
vated literary miner, was fortunate enough to
disinter the copy from which the following
facsimile has been made. It is in beautiful
condition, in the original Dutch paper wrappers,
and as fresh as when it left the dealer's counter,
forming in this respect a contrast to the
American exemplars which fetched high prices
at Mr.Whitmore's sale. No edition is specified
on the title-page, but it may be presumed that
many had been issued before 1791, not one of
which, so far as our present knowledge extends,
has survived. Francis Power, the publisher,

xviii MOTHER GOOSE'S MELODY

was a son of Mr. Michael Power, a Spanish
merchant, who in 1766 married Mary, the
eldest child and only daughter of John
Newbery. Under her father's will, Mary
Power became entitled to a fourth share in his
publications, together with other contingent
advantages. Very few books bear the name
of her son Francis, and he seems to have been
engaged in the active business of a publisher
for a short time only. A comparison of the
little book under review shows that the
editions published by Isaiah Thomas at
Worcester, Massachusetts, were almost exact
facsimiles of the London issues. The pagina-
tion is exactly the same, and the arrangement
of the matter very nearly so. Variations
in italic type and in capital letters con-
stitute the only differences. In these small
matters, the conservatism of English children
seems to have extended to their cousins across
the water, and the English nursery song, like
the English nursery game, forms part of the
eternal heritage of the two kindred races. A
facsimile reproduction of the earliest known

INTRODUCTION xix

collection of the rhymes sung by English
children in the eighteenth century, many of
which date from a much earlier period, and
are really tags of ballads in popular vogue,
will therefore, it is hoped, possess some
features of interest in the eyes of literary
antiquaries.

W. F. P.

MOTHER. GOOSE's

MELODY:

O It,

Sonnets for the Cradle.

IN TWO PARTS.

PART I. Contains the moft celebrated
Songs and Lullabies of the old Britifh
Nurics, calculated to amufe Children
and to excite them to Sleep.

PART II. Thofe of that fivcet Songftet
ami Nurfeof Wit and H amour, "Mafter
William Shakelpeare.

EMBELLI3 HE D W IT H 0 U T S«

And llluftrated with NOTES and MAXIM?,
HiHorical, PhiloJbphical and Criiical.

LONDON:

Printed for FRANCIS POWER, (Gvandfbn to
the late Mr. J. NKWBERY,) and Co.
Ho. 65. St. Paul's Church Yard, 1791.
3 Price Three Pence. ]

PREFACE.

By a very GREAT WRITER of very
LITTLE BOOKS.

MUCH might be faid in favour
of this colle&ion, but as we
have no room for critical difquifitions
we (hall only obferve to our readers,
that the cuftom of fingingthefe fongs
and lullabies to children is of great
antiquity : It is even as old as the time
of tne ancient "Druids. Carafiacusi
King of the Britons, was rocked in
his cradle in the ifle of Mona^ now
called Anglefeay and tuned to fleepby
fome of thefe foporiferous fonnets.
As the be# things, however, may be
made an ill uie of, fo this kind of
compofition has been employed in a
fatiricai manner; of which we have
a remarkable rnflance fo far back as
the reign of Icing Henry the fifth.
When that great prince turned his
A 3 arms

*i PREFACE.

»rms again ft France, he compofed tlio
following march to lead his troops to
battle, well knowing that mufick haA
often the power of infpiring courage,
especially in the mini of good men.

Of this his enemies took advantage,

PREFACE, vii

and, as our happy nation, even at that
time, was- never without a faction,
fomc of the malecontents adopted the
following words to the king's own
march, in order to ridicule his ma-
jefty, and to fliew the folly and ioa-
poflibility of his undertaking.

There was an old woman tofs'd in a
blanket,

Seventeen times as high as the moon ;

But where fhe was going no mortal
could tell,

For under her arm flic carried a broom.

Old woman, old woman, old wo-
man, faid I ?

Whither, ah whither, ah whither

fo high ?

To fwecp we cobwebs from tktjtyi
And Fll le 'with you fy and by*

Here the king is re^refented a? an

old woman, engaged in a purfuit the

moil abfurd and extravagant imagin-

A 4 able;

viii PREFACE.

able; but when he had routed the
whole French army at the battle of
Agincourt) taking their king and the
flower of their nobility prifoners, and
with ten thoufand men only made
himfelf mailer of their kingdom ; the
very men who had ridiculed him be-
fore began to think nothing was too
arduous for him to furmount, they
therefore cancelled the former fonnet,
which they were now amamed of, and
fubftituted this in its Head, which you
will pleafe to obferve goes to the lame
tune*

So vaft is the prowefs of Harry the

Great,
He'll pluck a hair from the pale-fac'cl

moon ;

Or a lion familiarly take by the tooth,
And lead him about as you lead a

baboon,

All

PREFACE. !*

All princes and potentates imder the

fun,
Through fear into corners and holes

away run;
While nor dangers nor dread his (Vrift

progrefs retards,
For he deals about kingdoms as we

do our cards*

When this was fhewn to his majef-
ty he fmilingly faid, that folly always
dealt in extravagancies, and that
knaves fometimes put on the garb of
fools to promote in that difguife their
own wicked deiigns. " The flattery
** in the laft (fays he) is more in-
'* fulting than the impudence of the
•* firft, and to weak minds might do
'* more mifchief; but we have the
** old proverb in our favour : Iftwe
** do not ' Jlatter ourfehes, tfe Jiattery of
€( others will never fart**?'

Wo

x PREFACE.

We cannot conclude xvithout ob-
ferving, the great j>robahility there
is that the cuftom of making Nonfenfe
Fcrfes in our fchools was borrowed
from this practice among the old Bri»
tljb nurfes ; they have, indeed, been
alwaysthe firft preceptors of the youth
of this kingdom, and from them the
rudiments of taite and learning are
naturally derived. ^ Let none there-
fore fpeak irreverently of this antient
maternity, as they may be confidered
as the great grandmothers of fciencc
and knowledge.

Motler

Mother GOOSEV Melody.

A LOVE SONG.

THERE was a little Man,
Who wooed a little Maid?
And he faid, little Maid, will you

wed, wed, wed ?
I have little more to fay,
So will you aye or nay,
For the lead faid is foonefc mended,
ded, ded.

II. Then

*a Mat* GOOSE'*

II.

Then replied the little maid,

Little Sir, you've little faid

To induce a little maid for to wed,

wed, wed;

You muft fay a little more,
And produce a little ore,
E're I make a little print in your bed,

bed, bed.

III.

Then the little man replied,
If you'll be my little bride,
I'll raife my love notes a little higher,

higher, higher;
Tho* m.y offers are not meet,
Yet my little heart is great,
\VIth the little god of love all on

fire, fire, fire.

IV.

Then the little maid replied,
Should I be your little bride,

Pray

Ktkr GO O S E V AfMȣ. 13

Pray what rauft ive have for to ear,

eat, eat?

Will the flame that you're To rich ia
Light a fire in the kitchen,
Or the little god of lo\e turn the
fpit, fpit, fpit ?

V.

Then the little man he £gh'd,
And, fomefav, a little cry'd,
For his little heart was big with for-

row, borrow, forrow;
As I'm your little flave,
If the little that I have
Be too little, little, we will borrow,

borrow, borrow**

* He who borrows is another man's
(lave, and pawns his honour, his li-
berty, and fometimes his nofe for
the payment. Learn to live on a
little and be independent.

Pefcb on Prudence.
VI. Then

14 Mother GOOSES Melofy

VI.

Then the little man fo gent,
Made the little maid relent.
And fet her little heart a think km,

kin, kin.

Tlio' his offers were but fmall,
She took his little all,
She could have but the cat and her

Ikin, Ikia, ikui.

ir

Jfa&r GOOSB

^ DIRGE.

LITTLE Betty Winkle fhe had a
Pig*

It was a little pig not very big;
When he was alive heliv'd in clover.
But now he's dead aad that's all overs
Johnny Winckle he
Sat down and cry'd,
Betty WhicklefaQ
Laid down aad dy'd;

16 Motber GOOSE's Mslofy

So there was aa end of one» two,

and three,
Jobmy Windle he,
Betty fFindle (lie,
And Piggy Wiggle.

A dirga is a fong made for the
dead ; t»ut whether this was made for
Betty Wtnckle or her pig, is uncertain ;
no notice being taken of it by Cam"
<&*, or any of the famous Antiqua-
rians.

Waffs Syiwm of Senfe.

****

***

mm

Mother GOOSES MM&. 17

SONG.

nchers,
And dance upon Difli

*TMlIPtipon Trenchers,

Bawm,

fome Bawm :
She bid me^read ligfetly,
And come again quickly,
For fear the young Men fhould do me

fome Harm.
Yet didn't you fee,
Yet didn't you fee,
What naughty Tricks they put upon
1 »*J B They

i8 Matter GOOSED

They broke my Pitcher,

And fpilt the Water,

And hufft my Mother,

And chid her Daughter,

And kifs'd my Sifter inftead of me.

What a fucceflion of misfortunes
befell this poor girl ? But the laft
circumftance was the mofl afFedling,
and might have proved fatal.

Winflwf* View of Bath.

CROSS

GOOSES Mekfy. 19

, draw the latch,
Set by the fire and fpin j
Take a cup and drink it up,

Then call your neighbours in,

A common cafe this, to call in our
neighbours to rejoice when all the
good liquor is gone.

B* AMPHIOK'S

20 Mother GOOSE'*

SONG Of EXJRYDICE.

T WONT be my father's JacV,
JL I won't be my father's Gill,
I will be thefidler's wife,
And have mufic wkenl will.

T'other little tune*

T'other little tune,

Prithee, Love, playmef

T'other little tune.

Thofe arts are the mod
Valuable which are of the greateft u(b.
THREE

Motlet GOOSE'*

THREE wife men ofGoiJjam,
They went to fea in a bowlj
And if the bowl had been ilronger^
My fong had been longer.

It is long enough* Never lament
the lofs of what is not worth having-

B3 THERE

22 Mother GOOSE** Melody.

"^HERE was an old man,

And he had a calf,

And that's half;
He took him out of the ftall,
And put him on the wall,

And that's all.

Maxiut. Thofe who are given to
tell all they know, generally tell more
than they know.

THERE

Mother OOOSE's Mek&y 23

rnr^HERE was an old woman
i Liv'd under a hill,
She put a moufe in a bag",
Andfentittomill:
The miller did fwear
Bythe point of his knife,
He never took toll
Of a moufe in his life

The only inftanre of a miller re-

fujtn^ tall, and for whick the cat

lias juft caufe of complaint againft

him. Coke upon Littleton.

B4 THERE

«4 Mather GOOSES Meloity.

rpHERE was an old womaa
JL Liv'd under a hill,
And if (lie isn't gone
She lives there ItilL

Thi^ is a feli-evldent prapofition,
\vhidi is the very eflence of truth.
She lived unto the bill, andlfjbtn not
gojte/he Jives litre JlilL No-body will
prefume to conttadia: this.

G&uja*
PLATO'*

Mother GOOSES Melocly,

PLATO'-r SO£[G.

DING dong bell.
The cat is in the well*
Who put her in?
Little Johnny Greet?*
What a naughty boy was that,
To drown poor Puny cat.
Who never did any harm,
And kilPd the mice in his father's
barn.

Maxim. He that injures one
threatens an humfccdt

LITTLE

TATTLE

jLj Sings for his iupper ;
Whatfliallheeat?
White bread and butter :
How will he cut it,
Without e'er alcnife >
How will he be married,
Without e'er a wife ?

To be married without a wife is a
terrible thing-, and to be married
xrith a bad wife is fomething worfe ;
however, a good wife that fings well
is the befl mufical inih'Ument in the

Mother GfOOSE'j Melofy. 27

SEfaw, Margery Daw,
Jacky iliall have a new mailer;
Jacty muft have but a penny a day,
Becaufe lie caawoikno fatter.

It is a mean and fcandalous prac-
tice in authors to put notes to things
that deferve no notice.

Grotiitf

GREAT

28 Mother GOOSE** Mekfy.

GREAT A, little a,
Bouncing B j

The cat's in the cupboard,
Arid ilie cau't fee.

Tes, fhe can . fee that you are
naughty, and don't jnind your book,

SB

Mother GOOSES Melody*

SE faw, facaradown,
Which is the way to

town ?

One foot up, the other foot down,
That is the way to London town.

Or to any other town upon the
face of the earth. Wktfi/e.*

SHOE

SHOE tlie colt,
Shoe the colti
Shoe the wild mare ;
Here a nail,
There a nail,
Yst Ihe goes bare.

Ay, ay; drive the nail that will
go: that's the way of the world,
and is ^ the method pmrfued by all our
financiers, politicians, and necro-
mancers.

IS

Mother G O O S E V Melafy. 31

IS %Tm Smith within ?
Yes, that he is.
Can he fet a fhoe ?
Aye, marry two.
Here a nail and there a nail,
Tick, tack, too.

Maxim. Knowledge is a trea-
fure, but practice is the key to it.

HIGH

Moth» GO O S E 's Melofy,

HIGHdiHdfe diddle,
The cat and the fiddle,
The cow jump'd over the moon ;
The little dog laughed4
To fee fueh craft,
And the difli ran away with the
fpoon.

It nmftjje a little dog that laug-hM,
for a greajt dog would be afliamed to
feagh at fuch nonfenfe,

« RIDE

Mother G O O S EV Mehfy. 33

RIDE acockhorfe
To BanJwy crofc,
To fee what Tommy canlray 3
A penny whhe loaf,
A penny white cake,.
And a two-penny appfe-pye.

There's a good boy, ear up vour
pye and hold your tongue 5 for fueace
is the figaof wifdom.

COCK

COCK a doodle doo,
My dame has loft her fhoe ;
My matter lias loft his fiddle ftick,
And knows not what to do.

The cock crows us up early in
tbemoming, that wemay worlc foroiir
bread, and not live upon charity or
upon truft: for be *ul>o lives upon
charity Jhall le often affronted* and he
that I&es ufan truft jlwtt fay double*

THERE

Mother G O O S E's MeloJy. 3$

THERE was an old man
In a velvet coat,
He klfs'd a maid
And gave her a groat;
The groat it was crack'd,
And would not go,
Ah, oldmanj doyouferveraefo?

If die coat be ever fo fine that a
fool wears, it is ilili but a fool's cost

C z ROUND

36 Mo&er G OOSE'j Melofy.

ROUND about, roundabout,
Magotty pye ;
My Father loves good ale,
And fo do 1*

Jfada*

Evil company makes the good
lad, and the bad woifc.

GO O S EV Melody. 37

Y^CATand Gill
J Went up the hill,

To fetch a pail of water j
Jack fell down
And broke his crown,

And Gill came tumbling after.

The more
better you will live

ASUS-

3$ Mother G O O S E'* Melofy.

ARISTOTLE'* STORY.

THERE were two birds fat on a
Stone.

Fa, la, la, la, lal, de;
One flew away, and then there was one.

Fa, la, la, la, lal, de;
The other flew after,
And then there was none,

Fa, la, la, 1% lal, dej
And fo the poor Hone
Was left all alone,

jFa, la, la, la, lal, de;

"This may ferve as a chapter of
conference in the next new book of
logic. Sawmill's Reports

Motler GOOSE's Mfojr. 39

MUSH-a-bybaby
On the tree top,
n the wind blows
The cradle will rock ;
When the bough breaks

The cradle will fall,
Down tumbles baby,
Cradle and all.

This may ferve as a warning to
the proud and ambitious, who climb
fo high that fchey generally fall at laft*

Maxim.

Content turns all it touches into
gold.

C 4 LITTLE

40 Mother G 0 O S E'J

LITTLE Jack Homer
Sat in a corner,
Eating QiCbriftmas pye$
He put in his thumb,
And pull'd out a plumb,
And what a good boy was L
Jack was a boy of excellent tafte,
as mould appear by his pulling out a
plumb ; it is therefore iuppofed that
his father apprenticed him to a
mince j)ye-makcr, that he might im-
prove his tafte from year to year;
no one Handing in to much need of
good tafte as a paftry cook.
JScntley o& the Sublime and Beautiful*
PEASE

'Mother GOOSES Meloty. 41

PE AS E-por ridge hot
Peafe-porridge cold,
Peafe-porridge in the pot

Nine days old,

Spell me that in four letters;

I will, THAT-

The poor are fcldomer fick fors
want of food, than the rich are "by
the excefs of it.

WHO

Mother GO O S E'.f

WHO comes here ?
A grenadier.
What do you want ?

A pot of beer.
Where is your money ?

I've forgot.
Get you gone

Maxim*

Intemperance is attended with dif*
cafes, andidlenefs with poverty.

JACK

Motlcr GOOSE'j Mclafy. 43

JACK Sprat
Could eat no fat,
His wife could eat no lean;
And fo betwixt them both,
They lick'd the platter clean*

Maxim,

Better to go to bed fupperlefs, than
rife in debt.

WHAT

WHAT care I how black I be,
Twenty pounds will marry
me;

If twenty won't, forty fliall,
1 am my mother's bouncing girl,

If we do not flatter ourfelves, the
flattery of others would have no effect.

TELL

Mother GOOSES Melody. 45

TELL tale tit,
Your tongue fliall be flit,
And all the dogs in our town
Shall have a bit.

Maxim.

Point not at the faults of others
with a foul finger.

ONE

ONE, two, three,
Four and five,
1 caught a hare alive;
Six, feven, eight,
Nine and ten,
I let him go again.

Maxim.

We may be as good as we pleafe,
if we pleafe to be good.

THREE

Mabcr G O O S E's Mclofy 47

A DOLEFUL DITTY.
I.

THREE children Hiding on the ice
Upon a fummer's day,
As it fell out they all fell in,
The reft they ran away.

II.

Oh! had thefe children, been at

fchool,

Or Hiding* on dry ground,
Ten thoufand pounds to one penny,
They had not then been drown'd.
III. Ye

48 Motlxr GOOSE';

III.

Ye parents who have children dear.
And eke ye that have none,

If you would keep them fafe abroad,
Pray keep them fafe at home.

There is fomething ib melancholy
in this ibng, that it has occafioned
many people to make water. It is
almoft as diuretic as the tune which
John the coachman whittles to his

PATTY

Mother GOOSES MeloHy. 49

PATTY cake, patty cake,
Bakers man ;
That I will matter,
As fad as I can;
Prick it, and p^rick it,
And mark it with a T,
And there will be enough
Por Jacty and me.

The fureft way to gain our enjfo is
to moderate our delires,

D WHEN

50 Mother G O O S E >

WHEN I was a little boy
I had but little wit,
'Tis a long time ago,

And I have no more yet $
s Nor ever, ever (hall,

Until that I die.
For the longer I live,
The more fool am !•

Maxim*

He that will be his own mafter,
las often a fool for his fcholar.

WHEN

Motler GOOSE 9s Meloft.

I.

WHEN I was a little lx>y
I liv'd by myfelf,
And all the bread
And cheefe I got

I laid upon the flielf;
The rats and the mice

They made fuch aftrife,
That I was forc'd to go to town
And buy me a wife.

II.

The ftreets were fo broad,
The lanes were fo narrow,

D 2 I was

52 Mother G O O SE 's Melody.

I was forc'd to bring my wife home

In a wheel-barrow ;
The wheel-barrow broke,

And my wife had a fall,
Farewell

Wheel-barrow wife and all*

Maxim.

Provide againft the worft, and hope
for the bell.

Omy

Mother GOOSES Melody. 53

OMy kitten a kitten,
And oh ! my kitten, my deary,
Such a fweet pap as this
There is not far nor neary ;
There we go up, up, up,
Here we go down, down, down,
Here we go backwards and forwards,
And here we go round, round, round.

Maxim*

Idtenefs hath no advocate, but
many friends.

D3 THIS

THIS pig went to market,
That pig ftaid at home ;
This pig had roaft meat,
That pig had none ;
This pig went to the barn-door,
And cvy'd week, week, for more.

Maxim.

If we do not govern our paffions
our palTions will govern us.

THERE

Mother GOOSES McJofy. 55

ALEXANDER'S SONG.

THERE was a man of The/fitly,
And he was wondrous wife,
He jump'd into a quick -fet, hedge,
And Icratch'd out both his eyes :
And when he faw his eyes were ouf,

With all his might and main,

He jump'd into another hedge,

And fcratch'd them in again.

D4 How

56 Mothr GOOSE1,

How happy it was for the man to
fcratch his eyes in again, when they
'were fcratch'd out! But he was a
blockhead or he would have kept
Tiimfelf out of the hedge, and not
been fcratch'd at all.

fs new Way to Wifdom.

A Long

Jfitfcr GOO9EV Jffih*.

A Long tail'd pig, of a fliorc
tail'd pig,

Or a pig without any tailj
A ibw pig, or a boar pig,
Or a pig with a curling tail*

Take hold of the tail and eat off his

head;
And then you'll be fure the pig-hog

is dead.

CJESAR'

JMtofrr GOOSE'/ MetoJy.

SONG.

BOW, wow, wow,
Whofe dog art thou I
Little Tom Tinker's dog,
Bow, wow, wow,

Tarn Tinker** dog is a very good
dog, and an honefter dog than his
matter.

BAH;

Mother GOOSES

BAH, bah, black Iheep,
Have you any wool ?
Yes, marry have I,
Three bags full;
One for my matter,

One for my dame,
But none for the little boy
Who cries in the lane.

Bad habits are eafier conquered to
day than to-morrow*

ROBW

Were two pretty men,

They lay in bed

'Till the clock ftruck ten :
Then up ftarts Robin.

And looks at the iky,
Oh! brother Richard^

The fun's very high j
You go before

With thebottle and ba^,
And I will come after

Oa little Jack nag-

What

6t

What lazy rogues were thefe to lie
irt bed fo long, I dare fay they have
no cloaths to their backs; for Jazi-
neft cloaths a. matt with rag**

THERE

THERE was an old woman,
And flie fold puddings and pies*
She went to the mill

And the daft flew into her eyes :
Hot pies,

And cold pies to fell,
Wherever flie goes

You may follow her by the fmell.

Maxim,

Either fay nothing of the abfenf,
or fpcak like a friend.

THERE

Motler GOOSES MMj. 63

THERE were twp blackbirds
Sat upon a hill,
The one was nairiM Jack*

The other nam'd GMt ^

Tty away Jack,

Fly away Gift*
Come again y^ck^
Come again GllL

Maxim.

A bird In the hand is worth two In
ttebufli

TtlE

THE fow came in with a faddle,
Thelittlepig rock'd the cradle,
The difti jiunp'd a top of the table,
To fee the pot vvafli the ladle ;
The fpit that flood behind the door
Call'd the difhclout dirty whore;
Ods-plut, fays the gridiron,

Can't ye agree,
l*m the head conflable,
Bring *em to me.

Note* If he a&s as conjdable in this
cafe, the cook mult furely l>e the
juftice of peace*

BOYS

Mather G O O S E's Mel*fy • 65

BOYS and girls come out to play*
The mooa does ihine as bright

as dayj
Come with a hoop, and come with a

call,

Come with a good will or not at all.
Loofe your fuppeij and loofe your

ileep,
Come to your playfellows kl tlte

ftreet;

Up the ladder and down the wall
A halfpenny loaf will ferve us all.

£ But

66 Mother GOOSE'* Mekfy.

But when the loaf is gone, what will

you do ?
Thofewho would eat muft work.

All -work and ixo jplay makes
a dull boy,

WERE

. 6?

WE'RE three brethren out of
Spain

Come to court your daughter Jane:
My daughter yane flie is too young,
She has no Jkillin a flattering tongue.
Be fhe young, or be flie old,
Its for her gold ihe muft be ibid j
So fare you well my lady gay*
We muft return another day.

Maxim.

Riches ferve a wife man, and go-
vern a fool.

E 2

8 Jtthr GOOSSV JK*$i

A Logical SONG; or tie CONJU-
ROR'S Reafonfor not getting Money.

I Would, il I cou'd,
If I cou'dn't, how cou'd I ?
I cou'dix't, without I cou'd, cou'd I ?
Cou'd you, without you cou'd, cou'd

ye?

Cou'd ye, Cou'd ye?
Cou'd you, without you cou'd; cou'd
ye?

Nets

G 0 0 S E's MeloJy. 69

Note.

This is anew way of handling an
old argument, faid to be invented by
a famous fenator; but it has f^ae-
thing in. it of Gothic conftrudtion.

£3 ALE ARK-

A LEARNED SONG*

ERE'sA, B, andC,
D, E, E, and G,
I, K, L, M, N, O. P, Q,

, S, T, and U,
X, Y, and Z.

And here's the child's dad,
Who is fagacious and difcernin^j
And knows this is the fount of Jeau>

ittv O0O8BV Kfc£, 71

This is the moft learned ditty ia
the world: for indeed there is no
fong can be made without the aid of
this, it being \h&gajmtt and ground-
work of them all.

Mope's Geography of the Mind.

£4 A SEASON-

72 Mailer GOOSES IZdcfy.

A SEASONABLE SONG.

PIPING .hot, fmoaYmgliot,
What Pve got,
You have nor,

Hot grey peafe, "hot, hot, hot;
Hot grey peafe hot.

There is more mufic in this fong,
on a cold froity night, than ever the
Syrens were poffeiied of, who capti-
vated Ulyffc3\ and the effe&s itick
clofer to the ribs.

Hvggkjordon. Hunger.

Metier GOOSES MsloJj. 73

DICKEllY, dickery, dock,
The moufe ran up the clock;
The clock (truck one,
The moufe ran down,
Dickery, dickery dock.

Maxim.
Time flays for no man,

MOTHER GOOSE's

MELODY,

P A R T II.

CONTAINING THE

LULLABIES of Skakefieare.

76 Mother G O 0 S E 's MeloiTy.

WHERE the bee fucks, there
fuck I,

In a cowllip's bell I lie :
There I couch, when owls do cry,
On the bat's back I do fly,
After fummer, merrily.
Merrily, merrily fhall I live now,
Under the bloflbm that hangs on the
bough.

YOU

Mother GOOSES MAofy 77

YOU fpottcd fnakes, with dou-
ble tongue \

Thorny hedge hogs be not feen ;
Newts and blind-worms, do no

wrong;

Come not near our fairy queen*
Philomel, with melody,
Sing in your fweet lullaby ;
Lulla, lulla, lulla, lullaby; lulla,

lulla, lullaby.

Never harm, nor fpell, nor charm,
Come our lovely lady nigh ;
So good night, with lullaby.

TAKE,

?S Mother GOOSE'*

TAKE, oh ! take tliofe lips away,
That fofweetly were for-fworn ;
And thofe eyes, the break of day,

Lights that do miflead the morn :
But my kifles bring again,
Seals of love? but feal'd in vain.

SPRING

Mbtkr GOOSES Wo$. 79

SPRING.

WHEN daifespied, and violets
blue,

And lady-finocks all iilver-white 5
And cuckow-buds of yellow hue.
Do paint the meadows with delight :
The cuckow then on every tree,
Mocks married men, for thus lings he ;
Cuckow !

Cuckow! cuckow! O word of fear,
Unpleafing to a married ear !
When fhepherds pipe on oaten llraws.
And merry larks are plough-men's

clocks :
When turtles tread, and rooks and

daws,
And maiden's bleach their fummer

fmocks ;

The cuckow then on every tree,
Mocks married men, for thus lings he 5
Cuckow !

Cuckow ! cuckow ! O word o£ fear,
Unpleafing to a married ear.

8o Wtbtr GOOSES

WINTER.

WHEN icicles hang on the wall,
And Dick the fhepherd blows

his nail ;

And Tom hears logs into the hall,
And milk comes frozen home in

pail:

When blood is nipt, and ways be foul,
Then nightly fings the Hanng owl,
Tu-whit! to-whoOj
A merry note,
While greafy Joan doth keel the

pot.

When all around the wind doth blow,
And coughing drowns the parfon's

faw;

And birds fit brooding in the fnow,
And Marian* nofe looks red and
* raw;

When

When roa&ed crabs hifs in the bowl,
Then nightly fings the flaring owl,
Tu-whit! To-whoo!

A merry note,

While greafy Joan doth keel the
jx>t,

TELL

8a Motlxr GOOSES

TELL me where is fancy bred,
Or in the heart or in the head ?
How begot, how nourifhed ?
Reply, reply.

It is engendered in the eyes,
With gazing fed, and fancy die
In the cradle where it lies ;
Let us all ring fancy's kaellf
Ding, done, bell;
Ding, dons, bell.

UNDER

T TNDER the greenwood tree,
VJ Who loves to lie with .me,
And tune his merry note,
Unto the fweet bird*s throat:
Come hither, come hither, come

hither.

Here ihali he fee
No enemy,
But winter and rough weather.

WHO

84 Mother GOOSES

WHO doth ambition ihun,
And loves to lie i'th'fun,
Seeking the food he eats,
And pleas'd with what he gets ;
Come hither, come hither, come

hither;

Herefhallhefee
No enemy,
But winter and rough weather*

If it do come to pafs

That any man turn afs ;

Leaving his wealth and cafe,

A ftubborn will to pleafe,

Due ad me, due ad me, due ad me;

Herefhallheiee

Grofs fools,
And if he will come to me.

BLOW

Mother GOOSE'sMtbfy B$

BLOW, blow, thou winter wind,
Thou art not fo unkind
As man's ingratitude :
Thy tooth is not fo keen,
Becaufe thou art not feen,

Although thy breath be rude.
Heigh ho ! fing, heigh ho ! unto the

green holty !

Moil friendfhip is feigning ; moft lov-
ing mere folly.
Then heigh ho, the holly !
This life is moft jolly.

Freeze, freeze, thou bitter Iky,
That doft not bite fo nigh,

As benefits forgot :
Tho* thou the waters warp,
Thy fHnfif is not fofliarp

As friend remember'd not.
Heigh ho! fing, &c.

OMU-

86 Motto GOOSE'/

OMiftrefs mine, where are you
running ?
O flay and hear your true love's

coming,

That can fing both high and low*
Trip no further, pretty fweeting,
Journey's end in lover's meeting,

Every wife man's fon doth know.
What is love ? 'tis not hereafter;
Prefent mirth has prefent laughter.
What's to come, is ftill uniure :
In decay there lies no plenty;
Then coqiekifs me, fweet and twenty,
Youth's a fluff will not endure.

WHAT

Metier GOOSE'/ MeJofy 87

f T THAT /hall lie have that MUM

yV the deer?
His leather fkin and horns to wear ;
Then Jing him home: — take thou no

fcora
To wear the horn, the horn, the^

horn:

It was a crdt ere thou waft born*
Thy father's father wore it,
And thy father bore it.
The horn, the horn, the lufty horn,
Is not a thing to laugh to fcorn.

WHEN

88 Mother GOOSE'; MdoJy.

WHEN daffodils begin tb
With, heigh ! the doxy Over
the dale;
Why then come in the fwect o'thj

year,
'Fore the red blood ralns-in the

winter pale,
The white Iheet bleaching on the

hedge,
With heigh thefweet bird*, O how

they.fing!

Doth fet my progging tooth.an edge :
For a quart of ale is a difli for a

.king.

The lark that tirra-ly ni chants,
With, hey! with hey! the thrufh

and the jay :
Are fummer fongs for me and my

aunts,
WhEe we lay tumblingin the hajTt

JOG

Metier GOOSJL's Msufy. 89

TOG on, jog on, the foot path way,
J And memly hcnt the Ayle-aj
A merry heart goes all the day,
Your fad tires in amile-a.

OSPHEU9

90 Mttfar GOOSSS

ORPHEUS with his lute made
trees,
And the mountain tops that freeze,

Bow themfelves when he did ling ;
To his mufic, plants and flowers
Everrofe, as fun and fhowers
There had made a lafting fpring*

Ev'ry thing that heard him play,
Ev'n the billows of the fea,

Hung their heads, and then lay by*
2n fweet mufic is fuch art,
Killing care, and grief of heart)

fall aileep or hearing die*

HARK

GOOSE's MelcJy. 92

HARK, hark! the lark at hea-
ven's gate fings,
And Phcetus 'gins arife,
His fteeds to water at thofefprings

On chalic'd flowers that lies,
And winking may-buds begia

To ope their golden eyes,
With every thing that pretty bin
My lady fvveet arife:
Arife, arife.

THE

92 Matter GQOSE's

THE poor foul fat finging by a
fycamore-tree,
Her hand on her bofom, her head on

her knee,
The frefh flr-eams ran by her, and

murmur'd her moans,
Her foft tears fell from her, and

foften'd the Hones ;
Sing all a green willow muft be my

garland,
Let nobody blame him, his fcorn I

approve.
I call'd my love falfe love, but what

faid he then ?
If I court more women you'll think

of more men*

FINIS.

NOTES

PREFACE, p. vii. There was an old 'woman toss' din
a blanket, etc.

Mr. Chappell, in his Popular Music of the Olden
Time, ii. 571, points out that this nursery rhyme
was sung to the air of Lilliburlero. In Mustek's
Handmaid^ 1673, according to Halliwell, p. 244,
the tune is called Lilliburlero, or Old Woman,
whither so high. This air was in vogue so late
as 1886. Mr. Frederick E. Sawyer, F.S.A., of
Brighton, wrote in Notes and Queries, 7th Ser.
i. 153, that the following song was sung at harvest
suppers in Sussex to the tune of Lilliburlero : —

* There was an old woman drawn up in a basket

Three or four times as high as the moon,
And where she was going I never did ask it,

But in her hand she carried a broom.
A broom ! a broom ! a broom ! a broom !

That grows on yonder hill,
And blows with a yellow blossom,

Just like a lemon peel,
Just like a lemon peel, my boys,

To mix with our English beer,
And you shall drink it all up,

While we do say, Goliere !

2 MOTHER GOOSE'S MELODY

Goliere ! Goliere ! Goliere ! Goliere !

While we do say, Goliere !
And you shall drink it all up,

While we do say, Goliere !'

This refrain reminds us of the old Goliardic
songs, which were not unknown in England,
though they were more common in Germany. Of
the * old woman ' rhyme there are several variants.
According to the version given in Infant Institutes,
1797, p. 15, she was tossed 'nineteen times as high
as the moon ' ; Ritson, in his Gammer Carton's
Garland, 18 10, p. 8, adheres to what seems to be the
original number, ' seventeen,' as given in Mother
Gooseys Melody, which it may be noted tallies with
that quoted by Goldsmith.1 Halliwell, p. 89, goes
as high as ' nineteen-nine times.' All the older
versions agree in stating that a blanket was the
medium of the tossing ; later readings have altered
this into basket.

A great writer of more modern days was not
unfamiliar with the rhyme :

* Little old vuoman, and ivhither so high ?
To sweep the cobwebs out of the sky.'

Dickens, Bleak House, chap. viu.

1 See Introduction, p. xi.

NOTES 3

P. 1 1 . 'There was a little man, nuho '-wooed a little
maid, etc.

Another version of this song, which is given in
full by Halliwell, p. 224, was printed at the Straw-
berry Hill Press in broadside form. It is also
printed under the heading of * A New Love Song,
By the Poets of Great Britain,1 in another very
scarce children's book, called The Fairing, or. Golden
Toy, which was issued by John Newbery about
1760, and Mr. Chappell, in his Popular Music of
the Olden Time, ii. 770, says that many half-sheets
of it with the music were printed during the
eighteenth century. It was sung to an old tune,
called, / am the Duke of Norfolk ; or, Pants Steeple,
which is given in Playford's Dancing Master,
Division Violin, 1685, pp. 2, 18 (Chappell, i. 117).
The song of 'The Duke of Norfolk will be found in
The Suffolk Garland, 1818, p. 402. It was sung at
harvest suppers, when one of the guests was crowned
with an inverted pillow, and a jug of ale was
presented to him by another of the company, kneel-
ing, to the following words : —

' I am the Duke of Norfolk,

Newly come to Suffolk ;
Say, shall I be attended,

Or, no, no, no !

4 MOTHER GOOSE'S MELODY

Good Duke, be not offended,
And you shall be attended,

You shall be attended,
Now, now, now ! '

The Irish tune of The Cruiskeen Lawn is a
modification of the air.

P. 25. Ding dong Bell, The Cat is in the Well, etc.

A variant of this rhyme is given in Halliwell,
p. 98. That writer points out, p. 245, that ' Ding
dong Bell ' is the burden of a song in The Tempest,
i. 2, and of another in The Merchant of Venice,
iii. 2.

P. 3 2 . High diddle, diddle, The Cat and the Fiddle,
etc.

This rhyme may possibly be alluded to in an
old blackletter play called A Lamentable tragedy
mixed ful of pleasant mirth, conteyning the life of
Cambises King of Percia, written by Thomas Pres-
ton, and printed by John Allde about the year
1570. It has been reprinted in Hazlitt's edition of
Dodsley's Old Plays. On sig. E iv recto (Hazlitt,
pp. 235-6) the following dialogue occurs: —

* King.

Me think, mine eares dooth wish the sound of musics
harmony 5

NOTES 5

Haer for to play before my grace, in place I would them
spy

Play at the banquet.

Ambidexter.

They be at hand Sir with stick and fidle 5
They can play a new daunce called hey-didle-didle.'

A variant of the rhyme is given in Miss Jackson's
Shropshire Word-Book, p. 323.

P. 34. Cock a doodle doo, My Dame has lost her
Shoe, etc.

Halliwell, p. 99, has extended this rhyme into
four stanzas, all of which, but the first, are pro-
bably modern.

P. 36. Round about, round about, Magotty Pye, etc.

Halliwell, p. 104, points out that ' maggot-pie is
the original name of the chattering and ominous
bird,' and refers to Macbeth, iii. 4, where this word
is used : —

' Augurs, and understood relations, have
By magot-pies, and choughs, and rooks, brought forth
The secret'st man of blood.'

P. 37. Jack and Gill Went up the Hill, etc.
Ritson, in Gammer Gurtons Garland, 1810,
p. 20, reads ' a bottle of water.'

6 MOTHER GOOSE'S MELODY

P. 39. Hush a by Baby On the Tree Top, etc,
Ritson, in Gammer Gurtons Garland, 18 10, p. 13,
gives a slightly different version : —

' Bee baw babby lou, on a tree top,
When the wind blows the cradle will rock,
When the wind ceases the cradle will fall,
Down comes baby and cradle and all.'

He says, rather improbably, that the unintelligible
words in the first line are a corruption of the
French nurse's threat in the fable : He has ! la le
loup ! Hush ! there 's the wolf.

P. 40. Little Jack Horner Sat in a Corner, etc.

These lines form a stanza in an old merriment
entitled, The Pleasant History of Jack Horner. Con-
taining the witty Tricks and pleasant Pranks he
played from his Youth to his riper Years j pleasant
and delightful both for Winter and Summer Recrea-
tion?- Halliwell, pp. 230-43, has printed the greater
part of the history from a copy in the Douce col-
lection in the Bodleian Library.

P. 47. Three Children sliding on the Ice, etc.

These stanzas are adapted from a ballad called
'The Lamentation of a Bad Market ; or, The

1 This title is taken from a copy in the possession of
the present writer, with the imprint : London, Printed:
tAnd sold by J. Drewry, Bookseller in Derby.

NOTES 7

Drownding of Three Children in the Thames,'
which seems to have been first published in The
Lo'ves of Hero and Leander j A Mock Poem : With
Marginall Notes, and other choice Pieces of Drollery,
of which the first edition was published in 1651.
The ballad was reprinted from the second edition
of 1653 by Dr. Rimbault in A Little Book of Songs
and Ballads, 1851, p. 187, and with some varia-
tions by Halliwell, p. 28, from the later edition of
1662. It was also printed by Mr. Thomson in
his Chronicles of London Bridge, 1827, p. 410. It
was sung to the tune of Chewy Chase (Chappell,
i. 199).

P. 5 1 . When Invas a little Boy, Ili^d by myself, etc.

A slightly different version is given by Ritson
in Gammer Gurtons Garland, p. 26, beginning: —

* When I was a batchelor, I lived by myself.'
This version is followed by Halliwell, p. 22.

P. 53. O my Kitten a Kitten, etc.

A few variants are given in the version printed
by Halliwell, p. 127.

P. 55. There ewas a Man o/'Thessaly, etc.

The variants of this rhyme are numerous.
Buchan, in his Ancient Ballads of the North, ii. 154,
has * a man in Nineveh,1 and Halliwell, p. 21, 'a
man of Newington.'

8 MOTHER GOOSE'S MELODY

P. 63. The So--w came in <with a Saddle, etc.
Halliwell, p. 186, reads: —

' The broom behind the butt
Call'd the dish-clout a nasty slut.'

P. 64. We >£ three Brethren out of Spain, etc.

This was a popular game-rhyme, and Mrs.
Gomme, in her Traditional Games of England,
Scotland, and Ireland, ii. 257, 455, gives as many
as thirty-eight variants. f It has been suggested
that this game has for its origin an historical event
in the reign of Edward in., whose daughter Jane
married a prince of Spain.' The numerous varia-
tions in the text, which may be seen in Mrs.
Gomme's exhaustive account of the game, suf-
ficiently testify to its antiquity.

P. 66. Boys and Girls come out to play, etc.

A variant of this rhyme is given by Halliwell,
p. 143. Mrs. Gomme, in Traditional Games, i. 44,
quotes an early version from Useful Transactions in
Philosophy, p. 44 : —

* Boys, boys, come out to play,
The moon doth shine as bright as day ;
Come with a whoop, come with a call,
Come with a goodwill or don't come at all ;
Lose your supper and lose your sleep,
So come to your playmates in the street.'

NOTES 9

It was also current in Scotland (Chambers, Popular
Rhymes, p. 152). The tune will be found in Play-
ford's Dancing Master, 1728, ii. 138, under the
title of Girls and Boys, come out to Play, and in
Gay's ballad opera of Polly, 1729, under that of
We *<ve cheated the Parson. The words of this last
song were written by Dryden, and occur in the
fifth act of his opera, King Arthur, 1691. The
music, which is said to have been composed by
Purcell, will be found in Wit and Mirth j or, Pills
to Purge Melancholy, third ed., 1712, p. 223.

P. 76. Where the Bee sucks, there suck I, etc.—
The Tempest, v. i.

P. 77. You spotted Snakes, ivith double Tongue,
etc. — A Midsummer Night's Dream, ii. 2.

P. 78. Take, oh! take those Lips away, etc. —
Measure for Measure, iv. i.

This song, with an additional stanza, and two
slight verbal variations, occurs in Beaumont and
Fletcher's The Bloody Brother ; or, Rollo, Duke of
Normandy, v. 2. Mr. Robert Bell points out (Songs
from the Dramatists, 1855, p. 148) that the origin
of both verses may be traced to the fragment Ad
Lydiam, ascribed to Cornelius Gallus. The follow-
ing are the corresponding passages, which discover
a resemblance too close to be accidental : —

io MOTHER GOOSE'S MELODY

* Pande, Puella, genas roseas,

Perfusas rubro purpureae tyriae.
Porrige labra, labra corallina ;
Da columbatim mitia basia :
Sugis amentis partem animi.

* Sinus expansa profert cinnama ;

Undique surgunt ex te deliciae.
Conde papillas, quae me sauciant
Candore, et luxu nivei pectoris.'

The following is Fletcher's adaptation of the con-
cluding lines : —

* Hide, oh, hide those hills of snow,
Which thy frozen bosom bears,
On whose tops the pinks that grow

Are yet of those that April wears !
But first set my poor heart free,
Bound in those icy chains by thee.'

It seems doubtful if Shakespeare's acquaintance
with the classics was sufficient to enable him to
compose the first stanza of the poem. If Fletcher
wrote both, he may have allowed his friend to
borrow the lines. On the other hand, in the wit-
combats that were carried on at the Mermaid,
Jonson, or some other scholar of the party, may
have quoted Gallus, and thereby started the idea in
Shakespeare's mind, to be afterwards pursued by

NOTES n

Fletcher. The music of this song was composed
by 'Jack Wilson/ the singer, who belonged to
the same company of players with Shakespeare,
and whose name is given in a stage direction in
Much Ado About Nothing, 4to, 1600.

P. 79. When Daisies pied, and Violets blue, etc. —
Love's Labour's Lost, v. 2.

P. 8 1. When Icicles hang on the Wall, etc.—
Love's Labour V Lost, v. 2.

P. 83. Tell me where is fancy bred, etc. — The
Merchant of Venice, iii. 2.

P. 84. Under the Greenwood Tree, etc. — As You
Like It, ii. 5.

P. 86. Blow, blow, thou Winter Wind, etc. — As
You Like It, 11. 7.

P. 87. O Mistress mine, where are you running?
O stay you here, your true Lo<ve V coming,

etc. — Twelfth Night, ii. 3.
The correct text has : —

' O Mistress mine, where are you roaming ?
O, stay and hear ; your true Love 's coming.'

The music of this song will be found in Chap-
pell's Popular Music, i. 209. Mr. Chappell points

12 MOTHER GOOSE'S MELODY

out that it occurs in both editions of Morley's
Consort Lessons, 1599 and 1611, and also in Queen
Elizabeth's Virginal Book, arranged by Byrd. As
it is found in print in 1599, it proves that Twelfth
Night was either written in or before that year,
or that, in accordance with a then prevailing
custom, O Mistress mine was an old song intro-
duced into the play.

P. 88. What shall he have that killed the Deer,
etc. — As You Like It, iv. 2.

P. 89. When Daffodils begin to "pear, etc. — The
Winter's Tale, iv. 3.

The usual text has peer for 'pear, and pugging
for progging in 1. 7.

P. 9 1 . Jog on, jog on, the foot path Way, etc. —
The Winter's Tale, iv. 3.

Mother Goose erroneously gives mend for hent,
which means to hold or grasp, in the second line.
This is probably an old song borrowed by Shake-
speare for the occasion. Mr. Chappell in his
Popular Music, i. 211, says that the tune is in The
Dancing Master from 1650 to 1698, and also in
Queen Elizabeth's Virginal Book under the name
of Hanskin. The song, with two additional stanzas,
is in The Antidote against Melancholy, 1661. The
following are the added verses : —

NOTES 13

* Your paltry money-bags of gold

What need have we to stare for,

When little or nothing soon is told,

And we have the less to care for.

* Cast care away, let sorrow cease,

A fig for melancholy ;
Let 's laugh and sing, or, if you please,
We '11 frolic with sweet Dolly.'

P. 92. Orpheus nvith his Lute made Trees, etc. —
King Henry nil, in. i.

P. 93. Hark, hark! the Lark at Hea^ns Gate
sings, etc. — Cymbeline, ii. 3.

P. 94. The poor Soul sat singing by a Sycamore
tree, etc. — Othello, iv. 3.

The song of Oh! cwillo--w, willow, which is in-
troduced by Desdemona in a few affecting lines,
appears to have been composed in the tragic days
of Henry vui. The version adapted by this un-
fortunate lady is contained in a manuscript volume
of songs preserved in the British Museum (Add.
MSS. 15, 117), and probably written at the close of
the sixteenth century or the beginning of the seven-
teenth. There is a blackletter copy of the song in
the Pepys collection called ' A Lover's Complaint,
being forsaken of his love,' which has been printed

i4 MOTHER GOOSE'S MELODY

by Percy in his Reltques, Series i. Part ii. A ver-
sion from the manuscript, which is slightly different
from that used by Percy, is printed with the tune
in Chappell's Popular Music, i. 206, where all the
available information about the song is given.

* Willow songs ' were favoured by the dramatists,
and a specimen written by John Heywood, a
favourite playwright and court musician in the
time of Henry vni., will be found in a manuscript
which formerly belonged to Mr. Bright, and the
contents of which were printed in 1848 by the
Shakespeare Society under the editorship of Mr.
Halliwell. There is another in an anonymous
prose comedy called Sir Gyles Goosecappe, presented
by the Children of the Chapel, and printed in
1606.

N.B. — The references to Halliwell in these notes
are to his Nursery Rhymes of England, second
edition, 1843, and in the case of Chappell, to his
Popular Music of the Olden Time, in two volumes,
undated, but printed in 1862.

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